Hugh’s Sweet Potato Gratin
From Stonesoup
Takes about 60 minutes.
Adapted from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall in River Cottage Veg Everyday.
Most people associate gratins with loads of cheese. As some French friends of mine pointed out recently, traditional French potato gratin is just made with potatoes and cream.
When I first mentioned this to my Irishman, he wasn’t very keen to try it. It’s definitely one of those more unusual dishes that tastes much much better than you can imagine. The salty peanut butter does a great job of contrasting the rich sweet potato.
enough for 4
1 cup double cream (or heavy whipping cream)
1 clove garlic, finely sliced
1 small red chilli, finely sliced, optional
1kg (2lb) sweet potato, scrubbed
150g (5oz) crunchy peanut butter
4 handfuls salad leaves, to serve
1. Preheat your oven to 180C (350F).
2. Mix cream, garlic and chilli, if using, in a large bowl. Season. Finely slice sweet potato into rounds.
3. Toss sweet potato slices in the cream mixture. Layer half the sweet potato over the base of an oven proof dish. Scatter over the peanut butter and finish with the remaining sweet potato.
4. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes.
5. Remove the foil and bake for another 20-30 minutes or until the sweet potato is tender and browned on top.
6. Allow to cool a little before serving with salad leaves on the side.
VARIATIONS
vegan / dairy-free – replace cream with coconut milk.
nut-free – replace the peanut butter with a few handfuls of chopped bacon or pancetta.
carnivore – serve as a side to roast or pan fried chicken or a pork chop.
more Asian vibe – combine the peanut butter with a few tablespoons Thai red curry paste. And serve with lime wedges.
less Asian vibe – skip the chilli and possibly the peanut butter too.
carb lovers / more substantial – serve larger slices of gratin.
Waste Avoidance Strategy
cream – will keep in the fridge unopened usually for 2 weeks. Can be frozen.
garlic, sweet potato, peanut butter – pantry.
chilli – will keep for weeks if not months in a plastic bag in the fridge. Can be dried to store for even longer – just leave uncovered in the fridge.
salad leaves – best to use for another meal. Can be frozen but will wilt when defrosted.
Add to my Old Favourite Recipes
Finally I figured out which cream I like most, it is called Cooking cream with 20% fat from manufacturer Meggle. I tried it with chicken stock and cheese on top, not bad, what the way as your recipe is: it is really very good! And it is also good later when it cooled down. This is my favorite recipe this winter!
Cream is really different in different parts of the world Christy!
So glad you found the one that works for you 🙂
Whoops! I’m super tired, and didn’t read the recipe right (even though I checked it carefully at every step!). I mixed the peanut butter in with the cream / garlic / chilli!
I’m sure it will be fine, but I’ll let everyone know the verdict when it comes out of the oven, just in case anyone else makes the same mistake 🙂
It turned out fine! 🙂
Hubby reported that he couldn’t taste the chilli at all though, so I’m guessing my chilli just wasn’t as hot as the one Jules used. Next time I’ll put in two or three!
Awesome Sarah!
Yes cooking with chilli is always a bit tricky… My Irishman LOVE heat in his food so I usually keep a bottle of chilli oil on the table so he can add to his hearts content.
The flavour’s pretty neutral so it goes with most styles of food.
You can get chilli oil in asian grocery stores or if you’d like to try making your own here’s the recipe I use:
https://stonesoupvirtualcookeryschool.com/2013/07/chilli-oil-2/
Jx
I’ll be fine Sarah!
Going to try this with almond butter as I’m allergic to peanuts. Will report how it comes out.
Almond butter worked perfectly! I also used evaporated milk instead of heavy cream. I was afraid it wouldn’t be rich but it was plenty rich and lower in fat (which my other half appreciated).
Wonderful Ellie!
So glad both the almond butter and evaporated milk worked well for you.
Thanks for reporting back 🙂
Best gratin in the world!